Ibiza: more festivals than cinemas

IbizaIbiza has two operating commercial cinemas: the family-owned Regio cinema in San Antonio de Portmany, and the one known as the 'multicines' in Vila, owned by Aficine, the largest and practically only cinema exhibitor in the Balearic Islands. It's a meager showing, in line with the reduction in screens and seating capacities that has been occurring in Spain for years. Both companies are struggling to withstand the current mediocrity of Hollywood and the pressure from platforms like Netflix. On the other hand, if you start counting film festivals, you'd think Ibizans were true cinephiles: Ibicine, Ibizacinefest, Ibiza Halloween Festival, Festival Dolor de Cabeza (Headache Festival), Muestra de cortos de las fiestas de San Bartolomé (Short Film Showcase of the San Bartolomé Festival)... not to mention other festivals originating outside the island, such as MECAL Air Ib MECAL.

Amidst all this cinephile fervor, there are at least two initiatives aiming to carve out a niche for themselves among the sea of ​​festivals across Spain – the Ministry of Culture counts as many as 500. These are Ibizacinefest and Ibicine. The tenth edition of Ibizacinefest has just taken place, with the final events on Sunday, March 1st. The festival is directed by Catalan filmmaker Xavi Herrero, who has lived in Ibiza since 2014. The ninth edition of Ibicine was presented on February 16th in Madrid and is also currently underway, with a program spread over several months and culminating in April. Its director is producer Helher Escribano, born in Ibiza in 1986.

Both festivals were born almost simultaneously and share easily confused names, with the prefix 'ibi', so frequently used in Ibiza to name initiatives, products, and companies of all kinds. I'm not sure the general public can distinguish one festival from the other. They also share sponsors: the Ibizan and some Balearic administrations. After all, the pie being divided is the same. They compete in name and resources, not so much for the audience: Ibizacinefest has a clear focus on auteur cinema, while Ibicine uses a red carpet and tries to attract a nationally renowned celebrity to its closing gala each year. The 2025 edition featured Carlos Bardem, Macarena Gómez, and Kira Miró, among others.

Are there too many festivals?

"No, there aren't too many film festivals in Ibiza; each one has a different focus," says Ibiza-born director Adrián Cardona. "Each festival has a specific audience, although anyone who likes film in general can certainly enjoy them all. I think there are as many, or even more, film festivals in many places on the Spanish mainland." Adrián Cardona works in horror films and goreHe has participated in the Sitges Film Festival a dozen times and is one of the driving forces behind Ibiza Halloween, a niche festival with a much more playful approach.

Héctor Escandell, director of The crimes of All Saints' Day and It is the Giant of Vedrà"It's true there are many festivals, but it would be unfair to speak specifically about Ibiza. It's a topic that has grown exponentially in just a decade, and surely there are many that don't make sense or are organized for reasons that aren't strictly cinematic. As for those in Ibiza, they have a radically different profile." Javi Riera, director of the comedy saga Go kill them and of SubtextHe adds a more critical nuance to the debate: "It's not so much about having more or fewer festivals. Red carpets are all well and good, but if there's no investment in filmmaking, there won't be any cinema. Cinema isn't just the red carpet; it shouldn't only be packed for the closing gala; screenings should also be full."

Filling movie theaters, in fact, is another matter entirely. This applies to festivals held in Ibiza and to commercial theaters throughout Spain. In the years before the pandemic, Spanish cinema grossed around 100 million euros annually with approximately 17 million viewers. In 2025, the box office didn't reach 80 million, with just over 12 million viewers. Lucky for the saga There is only one Father, Santiago Segura's fifth film in the series grossed up to €13.4 million in 2025. However, the number of Spanish films screened increases year after year: 727 in 2025, according to the Ministry of Culture; a record figure, although some films are always shown in previous years. In the current 40th edition of the Goya Awards, 218 Spanish films, released between January 1 and December 31, 2025, were nominated. Few of them were shown in either of Ibiza's two cinemas.